The Tree
by Insane Author
Summary: Tohru has found herself in a bit of a predicament...and helpful Hatsuharu comes to rescue her.


**A/N:** I felt bad for not posting for so long (Almost a month!), so I convinced my sister to give me guidelines for another one-shot. I haven't had inspiration for a story for so long, I've kind of become dependent on other people to give me ideas, and I need to break away from that...but whatever. I had writer's block on the multi-chapter fanfic I'm working on right now, so I needed a break from it (More info on my LJ). This is what I have to offer. Please enjoy!

* * *

"Help! Help me! Oh dear..." Honda Tohru trailed off as she tried very hard to glare at her predicament. Unfortunately, being the kind and caring girl that she was, she failed horribly.

Perhaps an explanation of Miss Honda's "predicament" would be in order, so that you may understand just why the sixteen-year-old girl is attempting to glare at a tree. Yes, you heard me right. A _tree._

Tohru was an energetic girl, and as she had been hopping home from work all by herself (Yuki and Kyo had both caught nasty colds and could not pick her up) there was a sudden gust of wind, and it had blown the precious ribbon Yuki had given her for White Day right out of her hair and into a tree. She had nearly cried, to see such a beautiful, important thing fly away. So naturally, when she saw it get stuck in the branches of a tree, she rolled up her sleeves and promptly climbed up after it. Being Honda Tohru, and far too scatter-brained to notice anything else when she was on a rescue mission, her poor, overworked mind did not notice how high she was climbing.

Reaching her goal, she grasped the yellow ribbon in her hand, and tied it firmly back into its place. That was the moment that she looked down.

Swaying slightly, Tohru found herself a steady place to sit, and wondered vaguely what she was going to do. She was so high up, and she refused to look towards the ground, for fear she would faint and fall from the tree. As she was dizzy and disoriented from her sudden height, she did the only thing she could think of...she called for help.

Now we return to our starting point: Honda Tohru yelling for help and attempting to glare at an inanimate object. I am relatively sure that at this point, the poor girl was hallucinating.

Fortunately, just then Sohma Hatsuharu was passing through, naturally completely lost and on his way to visit his sick cousins. When he heard her cries, he looked around, thinking that perhaps there was a small child lost in the woods, and he could save her...no one ever said that Hatsuharu was smart. He saw nothing but trees and foliage, so he called out, "Hello? Is someone there? Are you hurt?" He paused to wait for an answer.

Recognizing the voice, Tohru looked cautiously down from her perch. She swayed dizzily, but managed to hold her position long enough to ascertain that she was truly seeing a head of black and white hair beneath her. "Hatsuharu!" she cried happily, "I'm up here!"

At hearing her words, the younger teen glanced up and was met with the sight of a very distressed Honda Tohru. He smiled to see her, but it quickly turned to a frown as he realized that she must be stuck, to be calling for help as she was. "Don't worry Tohru, I'll get you down!" He assured her, wondering how on earth he was supposed to rescue her. Should he climb up and coax her down? Or perhaps he should encourage her from his position on the ground? He was ever so confused, and he wished that Yuki was with him. He would know what to do. The logical part of his brain mentioned that Yuki was ill, and that was the reason Haru was even in the area in the first place.

Haru was not thinking long when the decision was made for him. Tohru, wondering what was taking her rescuer so long, had glanced down to check on him. She had promptly fainted at being reminded of just how high she really was. Naturally, fainting had caused her to fall from her perch, and her dead weight made quick work of several dozen feet. Hatsuharu, seeing her suddenly flying towards the ground, ran to catch her. In his hurry to save her from the fall, he gave little thought to what would happen as soon as their bodies met.

**XxXxXPoofXxXxX**

When Tohru awoke, she was lying on something warm and soft. It was incredibly comfortable, and she wished she could stay there forever. But, she reminded herself, the boys were both unwell, and they needed care. So she roused herself from her peaceful slumber, sitting up and rubbing her eyes sleepily. "You might not want to stop hugging me." A voice murmured from just below her. That was when she realized...she was riding a cow. Of course, it was not just any cow, either. She was on the back of none other than Sohma Hatsuharu, the cow of the Chinese zodiac.

Blushing fiercely, she managed to ask, "What happened?"

Haru sighed at her antics, "You fainted and fell from the tree. I caught you and transformed simultaneously. I'm taking you home now. You're not in pain are you?"

She shook her head, blushing even more as she put her arms back around his neck. "No, I'm fine." She responded.

"Good." He said, "Because I need you to navigate."

* * *

I'm done now, please feel free to run away in horror. I know it's the first Fruits Basket fic I have ever posted, and I probably need to work some more on the characters, but I tried my best. Fruits Basket is one that I haven't been writing for long, so I still have some issues with it. Thanks for reading, please review! I just want to mention that the challenge is still ongoing if you have an idea you want me to write up. Thanks again!

Insane Author


End file.
